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Wak County rele 


of the 
> Woman's Association 
for the Betterment of 


Public School Bouses 
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Raleigh 
Wiraver & Lpuch, Printers and Binders 


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THE LIBRARY 


THE UNIVERSITY 
OF 


NORTH CAROLINA 


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Any one wishing aid in organizing a Local Asso- 


ciation in Wake County is invited to write to 


Miss Daisy BatLEY WAITT, 
RALEIGH, N. C. 
OR TO 


Miss Epiru Royster, 


RALEIGH, N. C. 


WAKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION. 


Mr. THOMAS JOHNS, Chairman. 
Mr. B. S. FRANKLIN. 
Rev. J. S. FOSstTer. 


Mr. ZEBULON V. JUDD, 


Superintendent of County Public Schools. 


WAKE COUNTY BRANCH OF THE WOMAN’S ASSO- 
FOR THE BETTERMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL- 
HOUSES IN NORTH CAROLINA. 


Miss Epirn Royster, President. 

Miss FANNIE WS. HECK, First Vice-President. 
Mrs. S. W. THOMPSON, Second Vice-President. 
Miss MINNIE FRANKLIN, Secretary. 

Miss Daisy BAILEY Walrt, Treasurer. 


THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE consists of the officers and 
‘ Mrs. E. E. Moffitt, Miss Ada V. Womble, and Mrs. F. L. 


Stevens. 


PAL 


To the Teachers and School Committeemen of Wake County: 


You have already done much for the upbuilding of school © 
interests in your communities. You are urged to make this 
year still greater efforts to enthuse every person not already 
actively at work, and to organize all into local Associations 
to improve schools, school-houses, and grounds. 

You will find the Betterment Association of great value 
in such undertaking. This Association receives heartiest 
approval and commendation from the Board of Education 
and from me. We consider this volunteer service of great 
value in advancing the educational interests of the county. 

All reports to the officers of the County Betterment Asso- 
ciation will be filed in my office. 

Very truly yours, 
ZEB. V. JUDD, 
Superintendent of County Schools. 


THE WAKE COUNTY BRANCH OF THE WOMAN’S AS- 
SOCIATION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF PUBLIC 
SCHOOL-HOUSES IN NORTH CAROLINA. 


Now that well-planned and well-built school-houses are 
being erected in all parts of the county, the co-operation 
and support of the women of the county are sought in order 
that these schools shall mean to the community all that 
well-taught, comfortable schools may mean. 

To make this help of the women most effective, the people 
of a school district may organize into a local Association, 
whose purpose is the improvement of that particular school. 

To beautify and make homelike the place where children 


spend at least six hours of every school day, is certainly 
our duty. The local Association can also establish libraries ; 


supplement the library, where there is already one; lay off 
and plant grounds properly; look after sanitary conditions; 


and in many other ways supplement the larger work being 


so well done by the men. 


Immediately after organization, the Association should 
offer its services to the School Committee. Whenever the 
Association wishes to make any change in the school-house 


or grounds, the School Committeemen must be consulted 


before any steps are taken. 

The thirteen local Associations in Wake County have 
made most creditable reports, and much has been done by 
individual effort. 

If every woman in Wake should feel called from her 
“little isle of safety to the larger ways of service” for the 
children’s sake, the good done would be beyond our reckon- 
ing. 

Correspondence is invited. A member of the County As- 
sociation will assist in organization whenever such service 
is requested. . 

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 


4 
THE STATE ASSOCIATION. 


The Woman’s Association for the Betterment of Public 
School-houses was formed in March, 1902, at the State Nor- 
man and Industrial College. The originator and organizer 
of this Association was President Charles D. McIver. 

The object of the Association, as told by its name, was to 
arouse public sentiment and enlist the energy of our citizens 
at large in improving and beautifying our public school- 
houses and grounds. The plan was one of lessening circles. 
The State Association was to organize County Associations, 
and these, in turn, to organize Local Associations. When 
an organization grows out of a need, its future is assured. 

In a remarkably short time after the organization, a 
number of County Associations had been formed, and Local 
Associations began to spring up all over the State. The 
present officers of the State Association are: President, Mrs. 
W. R. Hollowell, Goldsboro; Vice-President, Mrs. HE. E. 
Moffitt, Raleigh; Recording Secretary, Miss Mary K. Apple- 
white, Raleigh; Corresponding Secretary, Miss Mary Taylor 
Moore, Greensboro; Treasurer, Mrs. L. E. Powell, Whiteville, 
North Carolina. 

It would be too long a story to even name the results of 
the Association’s work attained in four years. How County 
Associations have been formed; how the energetic and wun- 
tiring president, Mrs. Hollowell, has met and inspired the 
women of every part of the State in this worthy cause; how 
an officer of one County Association travelled six hundred 
miles by private conveyance from school-house to school- 
house, leaving in his wake Local Associations; and how 
shortly after, through their efforts, the ere-while bare walls 
of public schools were hung with beautiful pictures and the 
grounds began to bloom with newly-planted flowers; how 
city schools, through whose halls passed some five or six 
hundred children daily, from being bare temples of learning 
began to be homes of beauty; how teacher after teacher be- : 
came ambitious to make her school-house the most attrac- 
tive in her county, or how, best of all, the children grew 
interested, and, as might be expected, interested their par- 
ents, until to modernize, to ventilate, to enlarge, to beautify 


5 


the public school, to make it the center, not only of the 
educational, but of the social life of the community became 
the ambition of the choicest spirits of the neighborhood—all 
this would make far too long a story. 

A Betterment Bulletin of great interest may be obtained 
upon application to Mr. R. D. W. Connor, Raleigh. 


THE WAKE COUNTY ASSOCIATION. 


‘Knowing the deep interest in educational affairs in Wake, 
it goes without saying that she was not long in falling into 
line. August 8, 1902, only three months after the organiza- 
tion of the State Association, Mrs. BE. EH. Moffitt, of Raleigh, 
presented the matter to the Teachers’ County Institute. 
Again the deeply-felt need assured a ready response. The 
Wake County Association was at once organized. 

At present there are local Associations at Wake Forest, 
Mount Moriah, Garner, Hagle Rock, Reddish School-house, 
Auburn, Oakwood School, Rolesville, Leesville, Wilbon, Fu- 
quay, Neuse, House Creek School, No. 3, besides three in 
the Raleigh District. 


Tuer Locar ASSOCIATION. 


Whatever method the County Association may pursue to 
teach its end—letters, visits, leaflets, scholarships—the end 
is the organization of an active, aggressive, progressive, and 
untiring Local Association for the betterment of its own 
school-house. 

We venture to say that there is not a single school-house 
in Wake County, either in town or country, which, inside 
and out, in point of health, convenience and beauty, is as 
good as it ought to be, or as it might me. They range from 
the one-roomed, unplastered, ill-lighted school, without 
desks, and where the children sit on the floor to write, to 
the newest school buildings, well-built and well-furnished. 
None were quicker to see the lack than the citizens of the 
capitai, and there are now three Local Associations in 
Raleigh—one for each white public school. 

Each Local Association has the privilege of making its 
own constitution, the following being offered only as a sug- 
gestion. Membership is open to men, women and children. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE LOCAL ASSOCIATION 


FOR THE 


Betterment of the. eT Public School 


ARTICLE I. 


Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the 
Association for the Betterment of the ........c.ccceecees 
Public School. 


ARTICLE II. 


The purpose of this Association shall be: 

1. To arouse interest in education, especially in the im- 
portance of every child being in school every day of the 
school term. 

2. To unite all the people of this community for the im- 
provement of our public school (1) by placing in the school 
facilities for health, comfort, and education, together with 
objects of beauty; (2) by the proper planting of trees, shrubs 
and flowers in the school grounds; (3) by encouraging the 
establishment and circulation of a public library; (4) by 
making the school the center of wholesome and instructive 
amusements—in a word, to improve the physical and intel- 
lectual environments of our future citizens. 


ARTICLE III.* 


Any one interested in the objects of this Association may 
become an active member by the payment of an annual fee 
of twenty-five cents for adults, ten cents for children. Any 
one unable to give active service may become an honorary 
member of this Association by the payment of an annual 
fee of fifty cents. 


ARTICLE IV. 


The officers of this Association shall be a President, Vice- 
president, Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian, who shall be 
elected at the annual meeting. 


* Bach Local Association shall decide for itself on the advisability of 
changing or including Article III. 


ARTICLE V. 


This Association shall meet regularly once a month or 
oftener at the call of the President. 


ARTICLE VI. 


That this Association may be in touch with the general 
work for the Retterment of Public Schools throughout the 
State and County it shall enroll itself with the Secretary 
of the County Association for the Betterment of Public 
Schools, and send to her an informal report of its progress 
at least twice a year. 


ARTICLE VII. 


This Constitution may be amended at any annual meeting 
by a two-thirds vote of the members present. 


DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 


The duties of the President shall be: To preside over all 
the meetings, keep order and preserve good feeling, and to 
cali special meetings when necessary. 

The duties of the Vice-President shall be: To preside 
over meetings in the absence of the President and to aid 
her in every way in making the Association useful. 

The duties of the Secretary shall be: To call the roll at 
each meeting, to write the minutes of each meeting, and to 
keep the County or State Secretary informed as to what her 
Association is doing. She shall also write to these for in- 
formation desired by her Association. 

The duties of the Treasurer shall be: To keep a strict 
account of all the money received and paid out by the Asso- 
ciation, and to give a report of the same when called. 

The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of 
the Association and one or more members, and shall have 
power to act on any question when it is not convenient to 
call a meeting of the Association. 

Mvery teacher in the county will be requested to send in 
not later than April 15, 1907, upon blanks furnished by the 


8 


Betterment Association, a report modeled upon the outline 
below. Where there is a Local Association, an additional 
report will be send by its President or Secretary to Miss 
Daisy Bailey Waitt, Raleigh. 


REPORT FOR SESSION 1906-1907. 
I, ORGANIZATION. 


Year beginning. . settee » 190. EO ENEGING «on sae seme , 190... 

1. Name of township and district. 

2. Name and post-office address of teacher. 

3. Names and post-office addresses of President and Secre- 
tary of the Betterment Association for your school. 

4. Number of members of Betterment Association. 


Il. INTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
* Amt. spent 
Numoer. this session. 


1) Library) (DOOKS) (Gi RN Ls Pee, 

. Papers and magazines, .......... fs os A 
4s Untramed picturesa oo... eek ss 

SCM Tamed.) (Pictures; Me. Vo. Se kes 

. Curtains and shades, ............ 

WASH WDaASINS iG sim co sce eee ae 

POW CTR 0007 totcies co tile AM ouete v's, 0 tauusens Cees 

{DOOR SIN AUS iii... skes GR Elie ce = seaene 5 eet, 

BES TOOUIS: | Wei i. ies WIR SMES is. 6) AM io UCHEREN's 

. Square feet of kalSomining, ..... 

. Square feet of interior painting, . rie 

. Mention full all other interior improvements. 


fk 
HFOoDpMAaOMRwNye 


fd ja 
GO 


Ill. ExtTrerRion IMPROVEMENTS. 


5 SOULE Ts Ua SAR ON A Reena reid Poe 

. Square feet of exterior painting, ...... bes 
wWindows:tnvasheds ios i ea nee pees: 
. Window-panes put in, ........... 

. Window-blinds hung, ........... 


OP OO be 


*If any articles named were donated, please mark ““Donated’’ and give 
estimated value if possible. 


P10: 


Amt. spent 
Number. this session. 


. Wells dug or cleaned out, ........ 
PUCK OEAY RL. BOL ORISSA EE REN G", 

BP VV ETCIERULATIS. OL ck a le cisls ad ceke 

BW WeLGMPPSUAMUS, A). ek side we babe 6 
RMP Sr ePR ary ETY 6 a Sete id el aide oles, wits 

fam SUIS (TEMOVEG), i he ee ee 

Pe RUD bISh TeEMOVEds Oe. 
ety tlle? LARC OUES ee ee e's 

14. Ditches or drains made, ......... 

oo. ,Grass-plots laid off, .........06.. 

PPL POCS DIATE, foe. eee a ts 

Mie SHrups Planted, fo ..5 cee 

ie.vr lowers DIANE, os sis 
19. Write fully of all other exterior ip tovelvontal 


oOo MN 


IV. FunNps RAISED. 
Amount, 
Pres vserrerment, ASSOCciaAtion,?),. isi. ik 6) feidie sfelele beth late eta e's 
MORTEM TER MPO LOTS a 200 6.0083 ile os a MRS LR a eae ane aS 
rare MMe TIME CREASIYVOTI ESS fal nf oka tg a!h io Geet ml aie cla He aieitt' late of bh 
. By other methods (itemize methods), ......... ...... 


Hm OO bd ee 


One of the best reports which any Association can make 
is a photograph of the house and grounds before improve- 
ment and a photograph after improvements. 

Include in this list only such improvements as were made 
by private contribution. No improvements made by use of 
public school money shall be enumerated in this list. 


IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL GROUNDS. 
MRS. F. L. STEVENS. 


Often, as we pass through the country, we see a home 
that has a look of special attractiveness. The house rests 
peacefully amid trees, shrubs, and flowers. The place in-— 
vites us, and looks restful because there is a scene. There 
is something to look at. We remember the picture long 
after it has passed from view. There has been purpose and 
method in the arrangement and planting of the grounds. 


10 


The neglected conditions of many of our school-houses 
and the uninviting appearance of the school grounds have 
brought about a general movement in this State toward 
improvement of these conditions. A movement of this kind 
is likely to encounter many obstacles. To be of permanent 
value the beautifying of school-houses and grounds must 
be a matter of concern to the whole neighborhood. 'The 
teacher and the school cannot accomplish the work unaided 
by the parents, neither can the parents accomplish it with- 
out the aid of the school. Only when all work in unison 
are best results obtained. 

Our first consideration is the location of the school. It is 
not too much to ask that four acres of well-drained land 
be devoted to the school grounds. Too often a bit of swamp, 
a sand hill, or a barren hillside is set apart for school pur- 
poses. 

Let us assume that our school-house stands upon a well- 
drained knoll of not less than four acres in area, and that 
the school-house is to some extent in accordance with the 
laws of sanitation and modern civilization. These conditions 
do not prevail generally throughout the State, and while the 
suggestions given here are based upon an ideal location and 
conditions, the aim has been to suggest plans that may be 
carried out in less favorable locations. Whatever may be 
the conditions, then, our next step is to beautify the spot. 

There should be both purpose and method in school- 
ground planting. The design or plan for improvement should 
- be carefully worked out before hand, etherwise the grounds — 
will have anything but a pleasing effect. And we are 
.Striving for the restful, inviting picture that sometimes at- 
tracts our attention in home grounds. First, then, the place 
should mean something. It should be a picture, not a col- 
lection of trees and bushes. It should be homelike, retired, 
and cosy. The school grounds should be set off from the 
surrounding fields, and should be open enough to admit of 
play grounds; and certainly a space should be set apart for 
a school garden. 

With the school-house as the main feature of the picture, 
it will be well to plan the walks first. The chief point to be 


11 


considered is the front door. If the school-house stands 
very near the highway, a direct walk from road to front 
door is possible. If the house stands at some distance from 
the road, and has two or more points of approach, join these 
points by the simplest curved line possible. 

Next comes the planting. Plant foliage in masses at rear 
and sides of school-house, keeping the space in front of the 
school-house open. Here you will have space for a nice 
grass plot, with possibly a rose bed in one or both corners 
of the grounds, but this can be a later consideration. Do 
not plant this front space with trees or shrubs. 

In planting keep the fundamental principles in mind: 
(a) Keep middle space open; (0) plant in masses; (¢c) avoid 
straight lines. 

Trees, then, must be our first consideration. The trees 
must be arranged to serve both for protection and ornament. 
Follow nature in planting first trees, then shrubs, and then 
flowering plants. Plant trees then in groups. Do not dot 
the grounds here and there with trees. Such planting robs 
the place of all picturesqueness. More than that, trees so 
planted are much more difficult to care for, and are much 
more liable to accident. Solid border planting should be the 
rule. By so doing, the school-house will be protected on all 
sides from the wind, and shade will be provided during the 
heated period of the year. Instead of being continuous the 
border may be broken in places to preserve attractive views 
of exterior landscapes. 

Select those trees and shrubs which are commonest, be- 
cause they are cheapest, hardiest, and most likely to grow. 
These may be found in the woods, old yards, and along 
fences. Use maples, oaks, ashes, birches and hickories, with 
quite a sprinkling of overgreens. If the country is blank, a 
rather heavy planting of evergreens about the border is 
excellent. 

As a rule, there is little to be gained by planting large 
trees. If only a few are to be planted, and the best of care 
can be given, then trees from eight to ten feet high or even 
larger may be used. But if a number are to be planted, 
Smaller trees are safest. In this climate autumn planting 


12 


is safe, and often advantageous. If possible, planting should 
be done on a cool, cloudy day. Unless the day is moist the 
trees should be carried to the planting site in a barrel half 
filled with water or in a think mixture of earth and water. 
Even a short exposure to dry air will injure the roots. 
Trees should be planted neither in very wet nor very dry 
soil. The hole that is prepared for the trees should be dug 
large enough to contain the roots fully spread out, and deep 
enough to allow the tree to stand about three inches lower 
than it grew as a seedling. 

The roots should be extended in their natural position, 
and carefully packed in fine soil. As the hole is filled, the 
earth should be pressed about the roots and around the stem 
in order to hold the tree firmly in place. The last two 
inches of soil should be very fine, and should lie perfectly 
loose. It will serve as a mulch to retain soil moisture. Do 
not water at the time of planting, since this method is apt 
to wash away soil particles adhering to fine roots, thus de- 
stroying the source of food supply by leaving open spaces 
about the roots. 

Care of trees after planting is necessary, that is, to protect 
the young tree from encroachment of weeds and grass, and 
to keep the soil in good condition. This can best be done 
by keeping the soil thoroughly broken around the tree. In 
this way the soil moisture is conserved, and watering will 
not be necessary. The practice of cutting away the top of 
the tree and all the young branches is to be discouraged, 
since by this practice the leaf surface is seriously dimin- 
ished. . Let the young trees grow at least two years before 
extensive pruning is undertaken. In all pruning cut close 
to the trunk, so that no jagged wounds are left to carry 
decay into the tree. 

Do not plant trees too near together. This will result in 
an unnatural and one-sided growth. From eight to twelve 
feet apart will be a suitable spacing distance. 

For shrubs nothing can be more charming than willows, 
forsythia, dog-wood, crape myrtle, snowballs, and dentzias, — 
with Amoor river privet for screens. 


13 


Vines may be used to excellent advantage on the out- 
buildings, and on the school-house itself. The wild honey- 
suckle, Virginia creeper, clematis, and morning glory will 

be found most suitable. 

; I should not advise a great outlay of labor with flowering 
plants. These may, however, be used effectively for borders 
along the denser foliage masses in the corners of the steps, 
and about the bare corners of the buildings. For flowering 
plants the hardiest are the most effective—cannas, holly- 
hocks, zinnias, marigolds add a delicious bit of color to the 
foliage mass. Every effort should be made to do the work 
well in the beginning. If all preparations are thoroughly 
considered, and the details carried out with care, the prem- 
ises should become more attractive year by year with almost 
no annual outlay of labor. The school grounds when once 
set in order should be able to take care of themselves. It 
is surprising what excellent results can be secured with 
almost no attention from year to year. 

The lines of improvement suggested in this paper are, as 
I said at the outset, very general in character. I may add, 
therefore, that if there are any who wish to take up this 
matter in a more definite way and will send a plan of 
school premises that is in formation, as to size, location of 
the grounds, together with size and location of the buildings, 
I shall be glad to give detailed direction for the improvement 
of such grounds. 


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THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 


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